How We Solve The Top Temporary Housing Special Needs & Requests”>How We Solve The Top Temporary Housing Special Needs & Requests
Here is how we find temporary housing solutions for some of the more common special needs and requests…
1. PHYSICAL CHALLENGES
For those people who have special physical needs, we can find homes that have the appropriate accommodations (such as chairlifts, bath safety bars, wheelchair ramps, bed lifts and more) or, if there’s nothing available in the area, we can rent and install those items. Sometimes the solution is even easier, and it’s just a matter of finding a home with single-floor living. We always make sure to talk to the policyholders and discuss their needs, so we can figure out the solution that works for them.
In the confusion of being displaced from their homes, policyholders have a lot of questions about our services and process. Need help answering them? Below are some of the most frequently asked questions and how we respond.
1) WHAT IS HOUSING HQ?
We are temporary housing relocation specialists who work with your insurance company to find you comfortable and convenient places to stay after your home has been made uninhabitable. We take care of the search, negotiations, paperwork, and other arrangements, making your life a little easier during a time of turmoil.
Temporary Housing Stats: How Last Year’s Storms Affected Placement Needs
Every year we find temporary housing for thousands of policyholders, and, periodically, we like to take a look at our own data to see what trends–or just down right interesting facts–we can unearth. It was very clear that the hurricanes and severe storms of 2017 had a serious effect on many policyholder’s lives as well as on the workload of your adjusters and our relocation specialists.
Overall, some of what we learned…
BIG STORMS MADE A BIG IMPACT
We saw an almost 10% uptick in families needing temporary housing due to storm damage, most of which was caused by last year’s hurricanes.
There continues to be a wide range of reasons people need temporary housing (cars through home is so much more frequent than most people realize), and we continue to be skilled at working with policyholders in meeting their needs—no matter the trauma they may have just endured. But for 2017, there was no denying the increase in storm damage and the impact hurricanes had on people’s lives.
Temp Housing Made Easy: Our 5 Steps For Finding Policyholders A Home
Your policyholder contacts you. You contact us. And, immediately we get to work. Our first objective is to find them “night-of-the-incident” housing (most likely at a hotel). If it’s apparent they’ll be out of their own home for more than a month, a hotel won’t be cost efficient for you and will feel really cramped for them. So, we immediately begin looking for a temporary home. Here is how we make that process easy for you and your policyholder…
1. GETTING YOUR APPROVAL ON THE BUDGET
The budget is our guideline for all the rental agreements we’ll arrange (the home, furnishings, housewares, etc.) We’ll present a budget to you and then work with you to make sure it fits within the policy’s ALE limits.
The Rental Market:
Low Supply, Increased Rents & What To Do
If you’ve been trying to find temporary housing for displaced policyholders, you’ve probably been having difficulty finding available units. And, even more, when you do find them, the rent is exorbitant. What’s led to this? What can you do about it? Here are our thoughts…
HIGH DEMAND: GREATEST % OF PEOPLE RENTING SINCE 1965
The effects of the recession, housing crisis and student debt have taken their toll resulting in fewer people able or wanting to purchase a home than any time in the last 50 years. The Pew Research Center reported in 2017 that 36.6% of U.S. households were renting. Even more, the Rental Protection Agency has crunched the numbers and determined that 2,654 new renters enter the market every day.
Wondering if we have the expertise to handle the temporary housing needs of your policyholders in 2018? Look no further than these representative housing success stories from last year. From house fires to flooding to catastrophic weather events and more, we assisted thousands of families from the 48 contiguous states, Hawaii and US territories in finding temporary housing solutions that met their needs.
SOLVING FOR HOTEL ROOM SHORTAGES DURING CAT EVENTS
“You are my hero!” – From a father looking for housing for his daughter and three dogs after Hurricane Harvey destroyed his home. This placement was particularly challenging because hotels in the area were fully booked for a major baseball tournament. Nonetheless, thanks to the volume of business we do with hotel chains and our pre-arranged agreements, we were able to find the family accommodations.
In the spirit of the season, we wish you and yours a happy, healthy Holidays
and a joyous New Year!
The holiday season always makes us thankful for what we have. This year, our
hearts especially go out to those whose homes, families and pets were impacted
by catastrophic natural disasters. It makes us all the more grateful for adjusters
like you who have trusted us to find temporary housing for policyholders.
Thank you for enabling us to make a difference and help families at a difficult
time in their lives.
THANK YOU FOR HELPING US CELEBRATE 20 YEARS IN BUSINESS
Since 1997, Housing Headquarters has provided exceptional,
nationwide, 24-hour, emergency ALE relocation service. When
you call Housing HQ, you will be helped by a full-time experienced
team member—never a call center, queue or untrained operator.
24/7/365… We Help You Help Them.
In our recent email detailing the story of our founder, Sarah Hackett, she talked about how rewarding it is to find temporary housing for policyholders, saying “I really liked it because I was making a direct difference in people’s lives while still earning a living.”
That idea of making a difference in people’s lives is a core component of who we at Housing HQ are. So, in addition to the work we do with displaced families, we’ve also been active supporters of the below charitable organizations (which we highly recommend if you’re looking to make end-of-the-year charitable contributions).
RELAY FOR LIFE – AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY FUNDRAISER
We have been a longtime supporter of Relay for Life, a fundraising event in which team members take turns walking a track for 18 hours to draw attention to the non-stop nature of cancer and the strength cancer patients exhibit in their fight against the disease. One of our Regional Account Managers is the Chairperson for the relay in South Dayton, OH, where we have raised over $170,000 for the American Cancer Society in the last four years.
Finding Temporary Housing After Hurricanes, Wildfires, and Other CAT Events
As families continue to turn to you for help as a result of the recent string of natural disasters (hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, wildfires…), we wanted to share a few recent housing success stories. Please remember that, as your trusted partner, Housing HQ is here to assist you in these challenging times by finding temporary ALE housing for your policyholders. Contact us and we’ll get to work right away
FINDING HOTELS FOR ADJUSTERS IN FLORIDA HURRICANE ZONE “I wanted to thank you for your assistance in placing our adjusters who are in Florida working the hurricane claims. Rumor has it you went above and beyond your always-stellar service to ensure our adjusters had hotel rooms! We are so grateful for your excellent service.” – Claims Manager at a major insurance company.
While we continue to work with adjusters on housing for policyholders displaced by Hurricane Harvey, a new hurricane, Irma, is expected to cause catastrophic damage in Florida and send tropical-storm-force winds, heavy rainfall and storm surges up the East Coast.
This won’t be easy for you or your policyholders. So, we want you to know that we are closely monitoring this situation and are here to help by finding temporary housing for impacted policyholders.
HURRICANE HARVEY:
Our Hearts Go Out To The Families, Let Us Find Them Housing
For those families in the path of Hurricane Harvey’s devastation, we can’t fully imagine what they’re going through or even what you yourself are experiencing. But, we want you to know that we’re here to help.
Our team is available 24/7. If you need help finding hotels and temporary homes for your policyholders, contact us and we’ll get to work right away.
This year Housing HQ celebrates 20 years of providing 24-hour emergency ALE relocation service for the insurance industry. We sat down with our founder, Sarah Hackett, to talk about the beginnings of her company, the changes in the world and industry and the company’s two-decade-long commitment to its founding principle of personal service. This is Sarah’s story…
I grew up in a house that believed in hard work and keeping us accountable. After graduating from the University of Wisconsin, I moved back to the Chicago area and began working as a waitress at the second largest grossing restaurant in the country. It actually taught me a lot. I learned you had to know everything about what you were selling, and so I became an expert in shellfish. The owner was a real taskmaster and that laid the groundwork for how I would–and wouldn’t–run my own company.
Housing HQ is proud to support Relay For Life Again This Year!
May 20th, 2pm-8am at the Centerville High School Stadium in Centerville, OH. This inspiring 18 hour event helps fight back against cancer, CANCER DOESN’T SLEEP AND NEITHER WILL WE! Click Here For More Information On Relay For Life
Housing HQ Supports The Artist In All
“The Artist in All” is an exhibition & silent auction benefiting Misericordia Heart of Mercy. This inspiring event features original artwork created by talented Misericordia resident artists with the assistance of dedicated staff and volunteers. Click Here for more information on “The Artist In All”
housing hq celebrates 20 years in business
Since 1997, Housing HQ has partnered with the insurance industry to create and manage temporary housing solutions for policyholders in need. As experts in our field, we want to keep you up-to-date on industry trends, information, pitfalls and successes. We’re proud to be celebrating 20 years in business helping adjusters and policyholders with emergency, temporary housing solutions. Thank you for your business!
Location, location, location. It’s a maxim that’s just as important to us at Housing Headquarters as to the real estate market that spawned it. Though, for our team, the importance of the sentiment is not about finding a home whose value is based on mass appeal but rather finding the perfect home and location for the policyholder we’re working with.
Here are some of the most common location needs and how we solve them…
A family of four (parents and 2 kids) was displaced for two months when mold made it unsafe to stay in their home. originally, the family thought they would just stay in a hotel. But, we found a temporary home for them on the SAME STREET as their house. This was much more cost effect than a hotel. Even more, it was incredibly convenient, enabling us to meet one of their major requests: being able to easily oversee their home renovations.
“Our temporary home is perfect for our situation. The house is so nice and well maintained. The location is perfect.”
staying in the school district
Keeping kids at their school is probably the biggest concern a policyholder has. A new school is a hard adjustment for kids. At the same time, we don’t want to put an extra burden on already overwhelmed parents, who will often choose to drive kids to their old school if placed in a home out of the district. With this in mind, we use our large database, connections with landlords and creativity to make sure we place families within the boundaries—and bus routes—of their current school system.
taking the work commute into account
Of course, the policyholder’s commute to their job is another important factor. Ideally, we want to keep them in the same general area and not significantly add to their commute. But, if they’re taking public transportation, that can be hyper-focused as they may need to be in walking distance. So, if we can’t find housing in their current neighborhood and flexibility allows, we’ll look at temporary homes along their public transportation route.
rural: setting up travel trailers or mobile homes
If the family absolutely has to stay on their property—more often a necessity in rural areas in which crops or livestock need to be tended or valuable equipment lies in outbuildings—we can set up a travel trailer or mobile home. Temp housing is often limited in rural areas, so a mobile home may at times be the only option.
